2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ

Will gas pains hobble GM's cash cows?

General Motors couldn't have picked a more disagreeable time to launch its new line of large SUVs. Although gas prices are retreating in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the sting of $3 gas is still much on the minds of would-be buyers. Meanwhile, GM stock has been nose-diving as rumors of bankruptcy have fostered little cracks in the fragile corporate façade. And so it is that the 2007 SUVs-the Chevrolet Tahoe, the GMC Yukon, the Cadillac Escalade-are seemingly born under a bad sign, but the good news is that the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ we drove is good enough to steal sales away from the competition and, equally important, will likely sell without the incentive coercion that was necessary to move the previous generation throughout much of its life.

Although the previous-gen Tahoe won a comparison test early in its life cycle ("Living Large," August 2002), its later years proved to be less fruitful. The last time we compared the Tahoe with its competition, it placed fourth in a field of five ("Gitche Gumee Games," April 2004). To recapture the class lead, nearly every aspect of Chevy's full-size sport-ute has been redesigned or altered.

Perhaps the most radical difference between the old and new can be seen inside the new SUV. Interiors have never been a GM truck strength-the previous Tahoe was criticized for having a cheap, dated dashboard. That old dash is gone, replaced by a modern-looking unit that would have been swell enough for the Cadillac version of the platform, but here it sits inside the least expensive of GM's big utes. The plastics that make up much of the interior are happily of the low-gloss variety and benefit from a graining pattern that wouldn't look out of place in a BMW. A firm press of one's index finger against the plastics does reveal, however, that they are of the less expensive and hard variety. The platform is known as GMT 900, and the other tenants, the GMC Yukon and the Cadillac Escalade, get the handsome graining and plastic into which your digits will sink slightly.

If you resist fingering the plastics, the interior should suit you fine. Build quality is excellent, gaps between parts have shrunk to just about nothing, and the Tahoe we drove was squeak- and rattle-free. Our top-of-the-line LTZ truck came with seats that have the feel and look of fine leather goods; the leather in the Tahoe last time around was difficult to distinguish from vinyl. The new seats are firm, you sit on top of them, and they lack bolstering, which works against holding you in place during the occasional cornering maneuver, but it does make sliding in and out easy. The high seating position and commanding view of the road remain, but the dash sits lower, and that gives the illusion of an even greater throne height.

Although the interior décor has changed for the better, passengers have about the same amount of space as they did in the last Tahoe. A third row of seats is optional, and you can get second-row captain's chairs instead of a 60/40 bench. Second-row seats fold forward easily; power-actuated folding is optional and allows for access to the third row, which is strictly for the SpongeBob set. Equally diminutive is the amount of cargo space behind that third row, a problem solved by abandoning the seating and folding the third row forward. Or you can remove the row, although each section of the two-piece bench weighs 65 pounds-cough twice, please. If you're one of those demanding souls who want a third row and cargo space, Chevy will be delighted to sell you a Suburban.

A new body, more chiseled and aggressive-looking, houses the upgraded interior. There's little chrome in evidence, and the styling, although clearly an evolution, benefits from tight panel gaps and elegant headlights and taillights. The expensive look isn't just skin-deep, as the Tahoe rides on a new frame and chassis. The frame, said to be 50 percent stiffer, bolts to the body and contributes to the solid, unflappable feel the truck now enjoys. For those who tow, a four-wheel-drive model can lug around 7700 pounds.

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